This invention relates to bed bug traps, especially but not necessarily in combination with other appliances. In particular, the invention provides a bed bug trap with a combination of bed bug attractants, and which may include the function and appearance of a complementary appliance, such as an air freshener, clock, radio, lamp or the like.
Bed bug traps of various types have been gaining increasing prominence and attracting increased market attention as the bed bug problem, well known outside North America, becomes more pronounced in North America.
A significant problem associated with bed bug traps is that their presence may be an undesirable indication to a guest that there is a bed bug risk, whether that is in someone's home, or in a commercial setting such as an office, or especially in a hotel room, and especially in the developed world where there is a good deal of paranoia around bed bug issues. This problem will often deter the owner from deploying a trap, despite how the trap might be otherwise highly desirable, since the owner wants to avoid the stigma often associated with having bed bugs. This fear of stigma certainly deters the owner from deploying a trap prophylactically, as a means of detecting an imminent problem. Preferably, any property owner who suspects a bed bug infestation or who wants to guard against one should not be deterred from deploying a trap prophylactically, so that an incipient problem can be dealt with before it develops into a major infestation.
With any bed bug trap, it is of course desirable to attract bed bugs to the trap. There are various known ways of doing this. For example, it is well known that carbon dioxide and warmth act as bed bug attractants, particularly when the bed bugs are seeking to feed. A number of luring compositions are also known, including various semiochemicals (pheromones and kairomones). It is known that certain pheromones will attract bed bugs seeking a safe place to harbor, and that certain kairomones will attract bed bugs seeking a feeding location, such as a human host.
Throughout this specification, whenever the terms “semiochemical” or “pheromone” or “kairomone” are used, it should be understood that this is intended to mean only such of those substances as are known to be attractants for bed bugs, or as may become known to be attractants for bed bugs or believed to be attractants for bed bugs.
Once the bed bugs have be lured to the trap, it is of course important to actually trap them so that they do not escape. Various means have also been employed to actually trap the bed bugs. These include, for example, various pitfall configurations and glue strips or the like.
In view of the preceding, it would therefore be advantageous to combine the bed bug trap with another common appliance, not only to avoid the appearance of a bed bug trap, but also to provide the increased functionality of that appliance.